The Pact
by daphrose
Summary: "Do you guys remember the conversation we had a long time ago? When we first started living as normal kids? . . . The one where we made a last resort pact; if anyone ever discovered our bionic secret."


**Sheesh, brain, could you slow down for a bit? The mind of an author, folks. :3 New ideas are everywhere.**

**This is a little idea that's been floating around in my head for a while. It's only going to be a one-shot. When Chase mentioned their "last resort pact" in No Going Back, I knew I wanted to write that conversation. And I did! So: this takes place towards the beginning of the series, probably around the time of Commando App. I decided to focus on Bree for two reasons: a) She was the most reluctant in No Going Back. b) I haven't done much with Bree yet. So here you go!**

**Hopefully you guys can enjoy this little one-shot. Warning: much family-fluffiness ahead. I don't own Lab Rats.**

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*** * * The Pact * * ***

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Bree sat at the console to the capsules. She was happily programming a list of clothing items for the next few days. Tasha had taken her shopping that afternoon and Bree was absolutely infatuated with all the options she now had. Instead of the skin-tight red-and-grey training suit she had worn her whole life, Bree now had a closet of clothes that were colorful, eye-popping, and hopefully stylish enough to get her into the cool cliques at her new school.

Some loud and playful shouts were heard and Bree smiled a little. Her brothers were home. "Hey Bree!" Chase called as he and Adam came tumbling into the lab.

"Hey guys," Bree greeted them without looking up.

"What are you doing?" Adam asked, rushing over and elbowing his sister good-naturedly.

"Putting my clothes into the system," Bree said in an irritated tone. "Get off, bozo!"

Bree shoved her brother and he fell to the ground. Adam groaned, pretending to be upset. Bree sighed and reached out her hand. Adam accepted it with a grin, then suddenly pulled her to the ground beside him. Bree gasped in surprise and swatted her brother on the shoulder, but she was laughing. They both stood up and walked over to the cyberdesk. Adam and Bree took seats on the stools and Chase hopped up to sit on the desk.

"So, how was roller-skating?" Bree asked. While she and Tasha had been having their "girls' day," the boys were having a "boys' day." Leo had dragged his step-father and step-brothers to his favorite roller-skating rink for the afternoon.

"Great!" Chase exclaimed. "Except for the whole falling-down part." The youngest bionic scowled a little.

"What?" Bree gasped, placing a hand on her chest and feigning shock. "Are you telling me that my super-genius brother didn't know _exactly _how to roller-skate as soon as he stepped into the rink?"

"Haha," Chase said dryly as his siblings chuckled. "You don't get it! The laws of physics _completely _change when you have wheels strapped to your feet!"

"Sure," Bree said slowly, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She and Adam shared a high-five.

"Leo fell down more than I did!" Chase protested.

"That is true," Adam vouched. "And he's the one who's actually done that before."

All three siblings shared a laugh together.

"So other than falling down," Bree continued, "roller-skating was pretty much uneventful?"

"There was that moment when Adam busted the laces on his roller skates," Chase said with a shrug. "We had a fun time explaining that to the man at the counter."

"Davenport was pretty upset," Adam said. "During the car ride home he gave me a big lecture about being careful with our bionics, blah, blah, blah, then we stopped for pizza!" The oldest bionic clapped his hands excitedly and flashed a happy-go-lucky grin. Bree shook her head. Only her older brother could be distracted so quickly.

"What do you think would happen if someone _did _discover our bionics?" Chase murmured thoughtfully.

"Well, I think we all know, don't we?" Adam said as if it were obvious – and if _he _could figure it, it most certainly _was _obvious. "Davenport would get dragged off to jail and we'd all become guinea pigs for the government. He's told us that a million times."

"It's so much easier now that we go to school," Chase continued. "I mean, all it takes is one slip-up. I know we'll try hard, but still!"

"Chase, would you just calm down?" Bree said. "There's no need to panic."

"Why not?" Chase nearly shouted. "If something happens – something we can't control – and people find out about our bionics, what will happen then? There's always going to be that possibility. If and when it does happen, what will we do?"

"We could just destroy them," Adam said plainly. Chase and Bree turned to stare at their older brother with "really?" looks.

"I say we come up with a plan," Chase said. "About what we'll do if anyone ever finds out about our bionics."

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" Bree asked.

Chase sighed. "You won't like what I have in mind," he said quietly.

"Then just don't tell us," Adam said. The oldest bionic began to get up, but Bree squeezed his arm and he sat back down. They both turned to their younger brother. Chase sat up a little, squaring his shoulders as he got ready to explain his plan.

"If anyone ever finds out about our bionics, I think we should just run away."

"What?" Adam and Bree exclaimed at the same time.

"Let me explain!" Chase said, holding his hands up in the air. "If someone sees us and calls the FBI or whatever, we should just leave. If we're not around then there'll be no concrete evidence that we exist. If we leave, everyone will be safe. Us, Mr. Davenport . . . Tasha and Leo, too. We have them to think about now! It's not only us we have to worry about. Our entire family is at risk. If we leave, they would all be safe."

For several minutes silence filled the lab. Bree knew how right her brother was; she just didn't want to admit it. To just pack up and leave her entire life behind? Yet if everyone she loved would be safe . . .

"Our lives would completely change if we did that," Bree pointed out, breaking the heavy silence.

"Yeah, I'm not sure," Adam said slowly. This was one of the few times in her life that Bree had seen her older brother act serious.

"We need to protect ourselves, Mr. Davenport, and Tasha and Leo," Chase replied. He hopped down off the cyberdesk and stood beside his siblings. "Look, I don't like it either! But we all know that's what we have to do."

Chase held out his hand, palm facing the ground. He stared at his siblings with a stoic expression on his face. Bree had to hand it to him; the position of mission leader was perfect for her brother.

"Let's promise that if _anything _goes wrong," Chase said, "we'll save ourselves and especially our family. Are you with me?" Chase moved his hand a little, indicating that he wanted an answer.

Adam took a deep breath. "I'm with ya, buddy," he said. He placed his hand on top of Chase's and flashed a sad grin.

"Bree?" Chase asked, staring at his older sister.

Bree looked down at her feet for a second and sighed. She had _just _gotten a normal life! Now she was going to make a promise that might mean giving it up? But the voice of reason in her head was telling her what she had to do.

"Yeah, I'm in," Bree replied. She stuck her hand on top of her brothers'. For a few seconds they stood like that, letting the reality of what they had promised sink in.

All of a sudden Bree pulled her brothers into a hug. They stood still for a moment, a little surprised. Then they gave in, wrapping their arms around each other in a family hug.

As they pulled apart, Chase said, "Remember, that's a last-resort pact. If all goes well and we're really careful with our bionics, then we won't ever have to leave."

"Right," Bree said, putting on a brave face for her brothers' sake. "We just need to be careful."

"Let's not ever bring this up again either, okay?" Chase suggested. "Mr. Davenport wouldn't let us do it and I think it's best if we forget about it."

"Forget about what?" Adam asked.

"Perfect," Chase sighed. "For now we can just be . . . normal."

The two brothers headed back upstairs – apparently Leo had bought a new video game that they wanted to try out. Bree walked back over to the console and continued to program her clothes into the system. This time, however, she wasn't quite as joyful about it.

Bree's mind kept wandering to the pact they had made. She desperately hoped they would never have to carry it out. She knew it would be hard for all three of them and for Mr. Davenport, too. Bree didn't even want to think about how heartbroken he would be if all three of them just up and left. Yet if he would be safe . . .

The female sighed again and placed her head in her hands. Though she would never say it to her brothers, that pact was one of the hardest things she had ever done. Bree didn't _want _to leave, especially after all she gotten now that they were allowed out of the lab. She was making friends, getting to know people, doing school, and becoming a normal teenage girl. She talked to other females – something she had never done in the fifteen years she had lived in the lab. Growing up there was not even _one _other person of her gender to talk with. Bree was still getting used to the fact that she _could _talk to other girls. It was great. The boys she talked to were pretty decent as well. Having her first crush was such a great experience. Talking to boys who knew nothing about the embarrassing mistakes Bree had made in the past was fantastic as well.

If they all left, Bree would be giving that up. She would have to leave and their lives would change forever. What would she miss the most? The school? Her friends? The access to a nearly unlimited supply of clothes? But Bree knew none of that was true. Deep in her heart she knew exactly what she would miss the most.

Her family. Sappy? Yes. True? Definitely. Bree was comforted by the fact that at least Adam and Chase – most likely – would be with her. But to leave the others? It made Bree's heart hurt to think about it.

What about Mr. Davenport? Her father. She loved him, even though he had often – and sometimes still did – treated her and her brothers as nothing more than experiments. He had taught her about her bionics. He had taught her how to count and read and spell. He had taught her how to be a good sister to her brothers. Bree wasn't kidding when she said that her father had taught her everything she knew.

What about Tasha? Bree finally had a real mom. She had always dreamed of having one. When she was really little Bree used to draw pictures of what she might want her mother to look like. None of them came close to Tasha. She was a fantastic mother, even though she had never really expected to have a daughter and two more sons. Bree loved the way her step-mom had embraced them so lovingly. She didn't think she could ever go back to the mom-less state she had lived in her whole life.

What about Leo? Sure, Bree wasn't exactly ecstatic to find out that she had _yet_ _another _brother. But in the short time she had known him, Leo already seemed to be a really great kid. He took great interest in getting to know Bree. He was fascinated with her powers and would listen carefully when she explained them. Leo messed a lot of stuff up, but he always apologized and worked to fix it; Bree respected that. Bree liked being the older sibling someone looked up to. Sure, Chase was her younger brother as well; but his intelligence gave him a sense of superiority that detracted from his admiration of his older sister. Leo truly looked up to Bree and she liked it. If she left, they would lose the older-younger sibling respect that they had gained for each other.

Bree didn't want to lose her family. Then again, if they _were _discovered by the government, she would still lose them. Except it would be worse. Mr. Davenport would be carted off to jail. Tasha and Leo would be alone – that is if they weren't arrested too. Worse still, Bree would probably be ripped away from Adam and Chase as well. They would all become the government's lab rats. Bree didn't want that.

This is the kind of thing you do for family; you make sacrifices. You promise to protect them no matter what the cost. Unfortunately, in the Davenport's case, those costs happened to be a bit more extreme. Fortunately, you'd never find a family more willing to pay the price.

Bree exhaled slowly and decided to head upstairs. She put a faux smile on her face for her family – yet another thing she was doing for them. The middle bionic decided that Chase was right; forgetting that conversation would be best. She shoved it to the back of her mind and promised herself never to bring it up again – unless absolutely necessary. As the elevator made its way slowly up the shaft, bringing Bree to her family in the living room, the girl desperately hoped that their promise would never have to be carried out. Yet deep in her heart – somehow – she knew it would.

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**So? Did you guys like it? That idea has been floating around in my brain for a while. When I watched No Going Back recently, I got the strange itch to write it and I just couldn't help myself. Don't worry; I'm still working on my other stories. The way I work is to jump between several ideas at once. I seriously have about ten different projects that I'm working on right now (some of them are posted, some aren't).**

**Lots of fluffy family stuff and what Bree thinks of all this. It was really fun to write it from her perspective. I like Bree and I've been wanting to do a story about her for a while, so this satisfied me. I liked getting to talk about her thoughts on the other family members (Donald, Tasha, and Leo) because I haven't seen much of that. Hopefully you liked it as well.**

**Yes, I said they would become "government lab rats." I said lab rats in a different context. Just 'cause I'm a rebel like that. *re-adjusts cool-looking sunglasses***

**Anyway, please don't forget to review if you liked it! It's the only way I'll know if I did a good job. :) And of course please follow/favorite me if you'd like to see more. I'll update Daddy's Little Lab Rats and/or I'm a Monster in the next day or two. Bye!**


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